Democratic defector? Sen. Doug Jones could break with his party to back Trump at Senate trial

[JonLP24]

NBC News interviewed Alabama voters to find out what they think the freshman lawmaker, facing the re-election fight of his life, should do.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Doug Jones, the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Alabama in 25 years, is in grave danger of losing re-election next year, and the impeachment of President Donald Trump isn't making things any easier.

So it doesn't come as a surprise that Jones is being eyed as the Democrat most likely to stand with the president in Trump's coming Senate trial.

The reasons: He eked out a special election win two years ago against Roy Moore, who was hit at the end of the race with sexual misconduct accusations involving minors, by less than 2 percentage points; he represents a state that Trump won by almost 28 percentage points in 2016; and he faces a field that includes a couple of popular Republican rivals — Jeff Sessions, a former senator and U.S. attorney general, and ex-Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, both of whom are leading him in the early polls. (Moore also is running again.)

And most voters in the deeply red state oppose impeachment, with 54 percent against and 39 percent in favor, according to a JMC Analytics poll.

Interviews last week with two dozen state residents suggest that Jones risks alienating at least part of his Democratic base if he votes to acquit Trump and that he would have a hard time winning over Republicans by backing the president. Many Republicans said they won't cast their ballots for him in November no matter which way he goes.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/democratic-defector-sen-doug-jones-could-break-his-party-back-n1107106?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

I don't have an opinion either way on this as I understand Jones represents Alabama. I'm more worried how Synema will vote on impeachment but she doesn't have an election to worry about until 2024.

[Bettie]

1. I suspect he will and

Joe Manchin will go with him to give Moscow Mitch his "bipartisan" verdict.

[rpannier]

2. If Jones and Synema were to vote against it, my guess would be that Manchin would either vote

present or no.
This is not a knock on Manchin. I donated over 200.00 to his GE campaign in 2018. But, I could see him taking the out

[StarfishSaver]

3. I don't think he'll vote to acquit

He also held out until the end until he voted against Kavanaugh. I believe he'll ultimately do the right thing.

[FBaggins]

9. It's possible that they're being used as leverage

Two or three Democrats willing to "consider" an acquittal if the trial is fair.

[StarfishSaver]

15. Ttue

And he DOES have to run in Alabama. He can't look eager to take down their guy.

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

4. Jones will probably lose ...

Jones will probably lose the senate seat no matter how he votes on the impeachment trial.

[UniteFightBack]

5. If Doug Jones would like to participate in the cover up then he lacks the moral courage to be a

DEMOCRAT!

[dawg day]

6. He was elected because of a huge growth in the Democratic base, esp black women...

Last edited Tue Dec 31, 2019, 01:11 AM - Edit history (1)

I don't think voting against impeachment is going to help hold them. Stupid idea, in addition to being immoral.

[FBaggins]

8. No... he wasn't

He was elected because nine women came forward to report inappropriate behavior on the part of his opponent (some while they were underage).

Jones received fewer votes than Vivian Davis Figures received a decade earlier while getting beaten by almost 2-1 (virtually the same numbers Ron Crumpton lost by in the 2016 race vs. Shelby). Yes, it was a special election, but Republican turnout collapsed by about half.

I don't think voting for impeachment is going to help hold them.

On that, we agree. There's no good outcome for Jones unless the Pelosi/McConnell impasse avoids a trial altogether. If he votes for acquittal he still wouldn't pick up many votes from Sessions... and if he votes to convict, republican turnout will swamp him.

[Iliyah]

7. Honestly, I don't think any of them will . . .

[TheFarseer]

10. I totally respect

If he wants to wait and see all the facts. I hope he does whatever he feels is right and doesn’t worry about political considerations one way or the other. But if he’s trying to attract republicans with an acquittal, it won’t work.

[Blue_true]

12. I agree. If he thinks voting to acquit with the recent revelations coming out helps him,

then he is totally wrong. I have some faith that he will do the right thing and deal with the consequences, the guy DID prosecute klansmen that murdered Black people when doing so was still unpopular in Alabama. My guess is he does the right thing, Blacks and rational Whites will likely give him the support he needs to win re-election.

[EleanorR]

11. Jones just wrote a WP op-ed about the need for a fair trial in the senate

Doesn't sound like he plans on standing with trump.

For Americans to have confidence in the impeachment process, the Senate must conduct a full, fair and complete trial with all relevant evidence regarding the president’s conduct. I fear, however, that we are headed toward a trial that is not intended to find the whole truth. For the sake of the country, this must change.

Importantly, to evaluate any testimony, all relevant documents need to be produced. Everyone knows a paper trail exists — one always does — and it will either corroborate or contradict the testimony.

Trump has loudly criticized the House investigation but has said he believes the Senate will provide him a fair trial and that he wants witnesses to testify. If he chooses to maintain his blockade, however, the Senate needs only a simple bipartisan majority to issue subpoenas for witness testimony and relevant documents. A full, fair and complete trial demands nothing less.

Every trial is a pursuit of the truth. That’s all I want. It’s all each of us should want. Now that it’s the Senate’s time to fulfill its duty, my final question is: Will a majority of senators pursue the truth over all else?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/every-trial-is-a-pursuit-of-truth-will-my-colleagues-in-the-senate-uphold-that/2019/12/30/22cfa6ea-2b06-11ea-bcb3-ac6482c4a92f_story.html

[Blue_true]

13. The man showed large moral courage by prosecuting old klansmen that

had gotten away with murdering Bkack people, WHEN such a prosecution risked his career and even his life. I have faith that he will do the right thing.

[Xolodno]

14. He's setting himself up for a "Present" vote...

...a vote for acquittal means Democrats won't come out to vote for him. A vote for conviction will bring a huge tide of GOP votes that didn't show up when he ran in the special election.

I'm guessing, he has some internal polls showing that he has a chance at re-election.

[sarah FAILIN]

16. He will wait till the evidence is presented and then vote to remove because that is what is required

We complain about McConnell and Graham coming in with their minds made up, why would we want our side to do the same?

He will wait till the evidence is presented and vote to remove, but he will listen to it all. He was a prosecutor and will let the game play out as it's supposed to.

Jones already knows he's going to lose, so that isn't going to be a factor. He only won by 3k votes last time with about 20k write in votes for Nick Saban and Mickey Mouse. That's what happens when the Republicans put up an accused pedo against a democrat. The republican's for the most part stuck with their party and that is what they will do again. The Black voters have turned against him, at least in part, because of the internal party issues that went on. The state party was basically useless and he got some people to run against the poor managers. There is no doubt in my mind this is his last hurrah.

His father died Saturday and his mother is not taking it well to lose her husband of 70 years. He probably isn't going to be at his best for interviews right now, but he will do his duty.

[KentuckyWoman]

17. ANYONE choosing not to do the right thing deserves to be voted out.

On the Democratic Party side, let the backing and money dry up. Primary them out.
On the Republican side, beat their campaign over the head with it and get them out.

It is in the best interests of the State of Alabama to have elections with integrity. Trump did and will subvert the integrity of our elections. Anyone who represents the State of Alabama who chooses to allow that to continue is subverting Alabama's statehood.

Period.